ABSTRACT
Pompey meanwhile was still detained before Jerusalem. With the help of Hyrcanus the city itself had been easily captured; but a part of the inhabitants had taken refuge in the Temple, which they defended with the stubborn desperation of their race. The Temple was built on a hill dominating the city, and was surrounded by a fortress with walls of enormous height. Pompey had sent to Tyre for siege engines, which he erected against the rock; but the defenders retorted so furiously with arrows and stones that the operations had been protracted into a long and difficult siege.
